Lord Tirek and the Seventh Element
by Matthais123
Summary: When the Elements of Harmony fall to a resurrected Lord Tirek's Rainbow of Darkness, it seems as if all is lost. As Spike stands before the demonic centaur, he must decide whether to continue fighting, or yield to the Dark Lord's superior might.
1. Lord Tirek and the Seventh Element

**Lord Tirek and the Seventh Element**

The Mane Six stood within the dark castle. It was a citadel of darkness. The blackest, most terrible place that ever existed in Equestria. It floated high above Canterlot, suspended in mid-air by dark magic. It cast a black shadow over desolation. The once proud city of unicorns, and capital city of Equestria, now lay in ruins. Canterlot Castle lay scorched and burned, with holes blasted in the stone work, and nearly every window broken.

As for the ponies of Canterlot, they fared even worse. Harsh, cruel creatures of darkness lurked in the shadows of the ruined city. These creature were once citizens, but dark magic had poisoned their very being, turning them into these twisted creations with scales, leathery wings, and sharp teeth. Many of them lay unconscious on the ground, as the result of the six brave ponies who fought them off on their way to Canterlot Castle to retrieve the Elements of Harmony. Thank goodness Celestia had taught Twilight the spell needed to unlock the vault the Elements were stored in. The six of them then had to fight through the army of transformed monsters once again to get beneath the dark citadel, close enough for unicorn magic to get them into it.

And so, here they were, in the throne room of Midnight Castle, face to face with the monster behind it all. It was a creature unlike anything they had ever seen. The bottom was that of a pony. Four legs, hooves, and a tail. The bottom half was covered with steel-grey fur, and where the Cutie Mark would be, there was a strange white arcane symbol. However, what was really disturbing was the top half. Stuck to where the head would be was a muscular torso that led up to shoulders with arms and hands. On top of the shoulder was a vile head, surrounding by almost a lion-like mane of steel-grey hair. Out of the hair extended dark-grey horns that curved skin of the torso, arms, and face was a reddish brown, and a metal breast and shoulder plate was worn by the creature. The strange creature brought back memories of the tough minotaur Iron Will. It was as if minotaur and pony were fused to create this _thing._ However, this bizarre beast's species did have a name: centaur. In addition, this particular centaur also had a name of its own. A name that filled the hearts of ponies with terror. A name so ancient, so powerful, that even the most powerful of unicorns would be afraid to even whisper it: Lord Tirek.

"Lord Tirek!" Twilight Sparkle shouted at the centaur before her.

Well, almost all unicorns would be afraid to say it.

"You're in for it now!" Twilight shouted, "You're going to pay for destroying Canterlot, and turning the Princesses to stone!"

Tirek stood in front of the six ponies, with a bored expression on his face. Suddenly, his mouth morphed into a wicked smile, which then opened wide, showing sharp white teeth, as he burst into evil laughter.

Once he finished laughing, he shook his head, still sporting an evil smile.

"You think you six are strong enough to defeat me?" he said, his voice deep and slightly nazily and gurgling.

"Well duuuuuuuuh!" Rainbow Dash shouted, suddenly zooming forward and getting all in Tirek's face, "We got the Elements of Harmony! You are sooooo doomed!"

The rainbow maned Pegasus zoomed back over to the group, the five necklaces and tiara pulsating with a magical glow.

"Let's see, I wonder what the Elements will do this time," Dash said, rubbing her hooves together with a smile, "Will they send you to the moon, turn you to stone, turn you to stone and then send you to the moon. . ."

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Maybe he'll exploed twice! That would be cool!" Pinkie Pie said, hopping up and down excitedly.

"Well, after what you did, I hope they banish you to the_ Sun_, so you can _burn_ for the rest of_ forever_!" Applejack shouted angrily, her voice dripping with scorn and hatred.

"_IDIOTS!_" Tirek spat angrily, "Don't you get it! I AM INVINCIBLE! The Dark Matter Comet resurrected me _and _the Rainbow of Darkness! I am _immortal! I cannot be vanquished_! Your Elements of Harmony are_USELESS_! Now flee from me or you shall all face the worst nightmares of darkest imagination!"

Fluttershy eeped and jumped behind Rarity. The white unicorn sighed and said, "Twilight Dear, could we please get this over with. This hideous monster is even worse than Iron Will, and this castle's interior is so _drab_!"

Twilight nodded, "Alright everypony, let's send this guy packing with the Power of Friendship!"

Within the next second, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony were levitating in mid-air, their necklaces glowing as power built in within the magical gems. Untold power built up within them until it was released in the form of a massive six banded rainbow. It shot up, smashing through the ceiling of the throne room, and then smashed back down right towards Lord Tirek.

The centaur's evil smile had returned as his hands moved up to the pulsating bag around his neck. The bag beat rhythmically, as if it contained a still beating heart. The centaur's fingers pulled on the draw strings, and the bag opened in a blast of black smoke. Out of it came an unearthly roar as another rainbow shot forth. However, this rainbow was very different. This one had seven bands in it, rather than six, but instead of the visible light spectrum, the "rainbow" consisted of seven shades of grey.

The grey rainbow met the Elements of Harmony's beam, and held it back. This was met by the sound of something cracking, and then. . .

_**SMASH!**_

The colored rainbow was shattered into pieces as the Mane six were thrown hard onto the ground.

Silence. . .

"Wha- wha- what?" Twilight gasped softly, breaking the silence.

"So. . ." Tirek croaked, still smiling, "Don't you see." He motioned up to the grey rainbow above him, which now had turned so that it formed an arch over where the Dark Lord stood. "The Rainbow of Darkness. . . is stronger than the Elements of Harmony!"

"NO!" Rainbow Dash shouted with burning rage, and she flew forward, hooves outstretched to slam Tirek's face.

Tirek stretched out his hand, stretching out his fingers. In response, the Rainbow of Darkness separated into seven beams. One of them bent down and quickly caught Rainbow Dash, magically impaling her through her stomach.

"RAINBOW DASH!" everypony shouted in horror.

"You will now join her," Tirek said cruelly, and with a flick of his wrist, five more sections of the Rainbow of Darkness shot towards the rest of the Mane six, impaling them through the stomachs as well.

"Now. . ." Tirek said gravely, "You shall now face the worst nightmares of darkness imagination!"

Applejack cried out in pain as two loud snaps were heard. Tears coursed from her eyes a extreme pain shot through her body. Her two hind legs, once powerful and strong after years of apple-bucking, lay broken at the hip.

"Apple-bucker! You shall buck no more!" Tirek declared.

Fluttershy screamed so loudly and so high pitched that it was a wonder why nopony in ear shot went death. A pain beyond pain shot through her as something in her spine snapped.

"Lover of animals! Through paralysis you shall care for animals no more!"

Pinkie Pie sucked in breath, but found herself unable to scream in pain. The source of her pain was from her vocal chords being severed.

"Element of laughter! You shall laugh no more!"

Rarity suddenly exclaimed at the top of her lungs, "MY EYES! MY EYES! IT BURNS! I CAN'T SEE! AAUUUUUUGH!" She thrashed around madly, her pupils expanding and her irises and pupils turning grey.

"Crafter of beautiful things! You shall see beauty no more!"

**_SNAP! SNAP!_**

Two cruel snaps were heard as Rainbow Dash screamed and began blubbering like an infant, her wings hanging limp and broken from her sides.

"Master flier! You shall fly no more!"

Twilight shook with pure terror as the beam impaling her brought her over to face Lord Tirek. The unicorn and centaur were eye to eye. The centaur's eye were blank white, possibly from the power of the Rainbow of Darkness coursing through him. Twilight though back to that night. To that distortion of starlight that she observed through the telescope. To the strange gravitational pull that seemed to come out of nowhere. To countless books she had read about theories of Dark Matter. To the day the invisible comet finally landed with a crash through the gates of Tartarus. To the mighty blast of dark energy that shot up in response, and pulled rock and stone from quarries all over Equestria to reform the dreaded Midnight Castle. To the night she heard of both Princesses falling to the ground hard, rigid statues of grey stone.

And with that, Twilight lost all of her nerve.

"P-p-please!" she whimpered, "Please, just fix them. Do something. D-don't leave them l-like this. We won't bother you ever again!" She then quickly added, "D-don't h-hurt me!"

Twilight hung in silence in front of the centaur, who just stared at her with a cold straight face.

"Element of Magic," Tirek croaked in a soft, icy cold voice, "You shall perform magic no more."

**_CRACK!_**

Twilight let out a blood curdling shriek as her horn was snapped clean off.

Tirek let out a stream of maniacal laughter as the seventh section of the Rainbow of Darkness suddenly crashed down, causing a huge explosion that filled the throne room with smoke. When the smoke cleared, the ponies all lay on the floor, unconscious.

"Elements of Harmony. . ." Tirek sneered, "Pathetic. . ."

A moment of eerie silence followed, which was broken by Tirek, "Come on, my little dragon. No need to be shy. . ."

There was a creak as the huge double doors opened slightly, and in slowly crept a purple baby dragon with green spikes. The young dragon shakily made his way to the center of the room, his eyes wide with horror as he looked at each of his unconscious friends.

"Yes. . . look around. . ." Tirek said, "See how weak and pathetic the Elements of Harmony are."

Spike clenched both his fist as he slowly looked up and met the Dark Lord's gaze. He only said one word: "Why?"

Tirek let out a laugh and said, "Why did I do this to them, or why did they loose? Either way, the answer's the same, and I just said it. The Elements of Harmony are pathetic and weak. They are meaningless in the grand scheme of things!" Tirek let out another laugh as he smiled warmly, reminiscent to one of Diamond Tiara's smiles. "It all seems pointless, doesn't it? How you followed your friends through the battle field even when ordered to stay behind. How you jumped into the Element of Magic's teleportation field at the last minute. How you were begged and pleaded to stay outside in the main hall while they came in to face me. Oh yes, I know. . ." Tirek added when he saw the shocked expression on Spike's face, "I've been watching all of you. But really, it was a waste of time. _All of it. . ._"

Spike shut his eyes tightly to stop the tears and shook his head violently, shouting out another word: "No!"

Tirek chuckled and said, "I knew your great-great-great-grandfather. . ."

Spike's head shot up in disbelief.

Tirek nodded, "It was a time after the Windigoes and before Discord. It was the time before the humans were banished from Equestria. It possibly a form a judgement on them because of how the three human witches summoned the Smooze. A sort of divine corporal punishment upon the race. Anyway, my victory over this land seemed apparent. So much so that a young baby dragon, a pink one with green scales, _your ancestor_, joined me-."

"NO!" Spike shouted, shocked at such a thought.

"Yes," Tirek hissed, "I used my magic to increase his power so that he became fully grown. However, a human soon arrived with a weapon powerful enough to defeat me. So, Spike, yes, you share the name coincidentally, betrayed me and joined the human and her friends. And then, the weapon defeated me, banishing me to Tartarus. So, little Spike, what is the moral of that story?"

When Spike didn't answer, Tirek replied, "The moral is that you must always side with the winners. Look! The Elements of Harmony have failed! There exists nothing that can defeat me! If you join me, then I can assure that you will live, and live comfortably I assure you."

Spike didn't say anything. He couldn't. He was too filled with dread and despair. His whole body trembled as he cried silently, huge tears falling from his eyes.

"Listen to me, young dragon," Tirek said softly, "This will actually benefit your friends. As my loyal servant in my new Kingdom, you can keep an eye on them. They won't be thrown in a dungeon, I assure you. They aren't a threat to me. As my second in command, you can secure them comfortable places to live, and relative safety from my. . ._rowdy_ military forces for the rest of their shattered lives. So Spike, will you make the _wisest_ choice?"

Spike's tears suddenly stopped, as did his shuddering.

_"He's right. . ."_ Spike Thought, _"I have to do it. . .for them. . ."_

_**"No!"**_ shouted another voice, possibly from deep within Spike's heart. The last burning, sparkling ember of hope.

However, Spike ignored it.

Tirek smiled wickedly when he saw the baby dragon quietly shake his head to say "yes".

"Excellent. . ." Tirek said, then he stretched out his hand and shouted, "Rainbow of Darkness! Encircle the young dragon!"

The Rainbow of Darkness twisted into a huge cyclone, which descended upon Spike as a huge tornado. Spike stood motionless within the twisting magic that surrounded him as Lord Tirek's voice echoed within the corridors of his mind.

_"Yes. . . that's it. . . just relax. . . let the Rainbow of Darkness seep in. . . don't fight it. . .let it take hold of the darkness in your heart. . ."_

Spike felt his will begin to diminish, his fire begin to shrink, his consciousness begin to warp and grow weary.

_"Accept the Rainbow of Darkness' power. . ."_

Spike felt the entire world turn to grey, and then slowly fade to black. Spike's eye lids dropped as he felt his mind begin to collapse in upon itself. He felt his heart sink lower, and lower, and lower still. But then, out of the darkness, something appeared. It was the spark. The ember of hope that Spike had at first ignored. But somehow, someway, it had come back. Perhaps, with all the darkness around it, its tiny speck of light had become even more prominent. The ember of hope appeared to Spike, beckoning to him in his mind's eye, as it began to play memories, scavenged from the corners of his slowly collapsing mind. . .

* * *

_____"Where's Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked worriedly as the last pet crossed the finish line.  
_

_____Applejack looked through a pair of binoculars towards Ghastly Gorge. She gasped and said, "Great galloping galoshes! There's been an avalanche in there!"  
_

_____"Rainbow!" Spike shouted in fear. Rainbow couldn't really be injured, could she? Terrible thoughts ran through the dragon's mind. An avalanche. . .Rainbow could be trapped under a heavy boulder. Or what if one had broken her back, or crushed her spine? Oh sweet Celestia! What if she was dead? What if Rainbow Dash, one of his good friends, **was dead**?  
_

_____"Wait! Look!" Pinkie Pie said, squeezing behind the binoculars.  
_

_____"It's the turtle!" Fluttershy said, squeezing behind the binoculars.  
_

_____**"Tortoise!"**  
_

_____"...whatever..."  
_

_____"And he's carrying something on his back..." Twilight added.  
_

_____Pinkie Pie gasped, "Ahh! It's Rainbow Dash! It's her! It's Rainbow!"  
_

_____Spike felt immense relief course through his body. Thank goodness, she was alright. Spike placed a hand over his heart, which was still thumping wildly from the momentary scare. He cared about all of his friends so much. If anything happened to any of them. . .  
_

* * *

_____"...and that's the story of my whole entire life! Well, up until today. Do you wanna hear about today?" Spike said proudly.  
_

_____"Oh, yes, please!" Fluttershy said happily.  
_

_____Spike smiled. This Fluttershy pony was so nice! Nopony really cared enough to even pay any mind to him. Nopony else saw anything special about him. He was a dragon in a pony society! Didn't that mean anything? Finally, this pegasus was the first to ever so interest in him. And seeing her smile, just be telling her about himself, why, it just made him feel warm inside. For some reason, making her smile, making her happy, was worth it.  
_

* * *

_____"Applejack, I can't thank you enough for this great blanket. I really needed a new one," Spike said with a smile  
_

_____Applejack blushed, "C'mon, Spike, you already thanked me fifteen times. I'm startin' to get a little embarrassed."  
_

_____Spike smiled bashfully. Applejack. What an award winning personality! She was honest, sincere, down to earth, and basically the heart of the group. You could depend on her for anything, and she would never ever give up. If a friend needed her, she would probably go to Tartarus and back to help that friend. Spike considered himself very lucky to have a friend like Applejack.  
_

* * *

_____Trumpets sounded as the Running of the Leaves was about to begin.  
_

_____"Racers! Please take your positions!" Pinkie Pie said into the megaphone from the basket of the hot air balloon. She was all ready to take off as soon as the race started.  
_

_____"Um... Pinkie Pie?" Spike asked, approaching the balloon nerviously.  
_

_____"Hey, Spike! What's up? Oh wait, it me, I'm up!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.  
_

_____"Uh, yeah," Spike replied nervously, "I know you're doing the announcing today and stuff and... I'm sure you're gonna do a great job and all, but... I was just wondering..."  
_

_____Pinkie Pie cocked her head in puzzlement, "What?"  
_

_____Spike groaned in disappointment, "Aw... Forget it." He turned to walk away from Pinkie called out to him.  
_

_____"Spike! Would you like to be my co-reporter? We could comment on the action together."  
_

_____Spike's little heart leapt, "We could?"  
_

_____"Climb on up!" Pinkie Pie said happily.  
_

_____Spike jumped in with a smile on his face. The pink earth pony had just made him so very happy! That's just the way Pinkie was, she always wanted to make everyone smile! She was such a good friend to have. There was never a dull moment when Pinkie Pie was around. Sure, she could get annoying sometimes, but the thing was, she always meant well. There wasn't a mean spirited bone in her entire body. Even when she did get angry at somebody, like Gilda Griffon, her first course of action was not revenge, but to throw a party for her!  
_

_____And now, her she was, with an awesome opportunity to be the announcer for the Running of the Leaves, and she was willing to share it with him! Spike was so glad he had Pinkie Pie as a close friend.  
_

* * *

_____Once the baby dragon, unicorn, and owl reached a safe distance from the green, angry adult dragon, Twilight turned towards the dragon and said, "Spike! We were so worried about you! I was so worried about you! Why did you run away?"  
_

_____Spike looked down at the ground dejectedly and said, "I thought you didn't need me anymore. And that you didn't love me anymore."  
_

_____Twilight's eyes widened with shock, and she replied, "Spike. Sure, I was disappointed, but you are my number one assistant! And friend. And you always will be. It's just that sometimes I need some help at night. I can't ask you to stay up late. You're a baby dragon and you need your rest. Owls are nocturnal. So I asked Owloysius to help. But not to take your place!" Twilight's smiled at Spike and said sincerely, "**No one** could**ever** replace you, Spike. Not even when you are being a jealous numbskull."  
_

_____Twilight playfully rubbed Spike on the head. Spike smiled and gave Twilight a hug, "I'm sorry, Twilight. I've never should have been so jealous."  
_

_____Twilight hugged the little dragon bag and replied, "And I'm sorry too, Spike. I should have been more sensitive."  
_

_____Spike felt. . .warm. . . inside. It was as if his very heart was being filled with warm love. When he had though Twilight didn't love him anymore, he had felt. . .empty. . . and cold. It felt like nothing mattered anymore, and that he'd never be happy again. Sure, he had been temporarily excited when he found the horde of gems, but as he said, even if his tummy was full, the rest of him would still feel empty. . . possibly forever.  
_

_____Spike banished the thought as he hugged the unicorn tighter. He didn't have to worry about things like that anymore. He would never have to feel alone or unimportant ever again. Twilight would always love him. Always.  
_

_____**Always. . .**  
_

* * *

_____With a flash, Twilight teleported herself, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Spike out of the clutches of Garble and his two goons.  
_

_____Spike let out a sigh of relief, "Phew, that was a close one. Thanks you guys."  
_

_____Twilight Sparkle got up and gulped in air after the exhausting spell. She caught her breath and replied with a smile, "Of course. What are friends for?"  
_

_____Spike smiled and looked at the three ponies, "You're more than friends. You're my family."  
_

_____During the group hug that followed, Spike thought, "They are my family, and nothing can change that. They all mean more to me than anything else. No matter what I'm going through, I'll always have them. They'll always be there for me, and I'm always gonna be there for them."  
_

* * *

_____Both the dragon and white unicorn were falling very rapidly to their deaths. As the hard, unforgiving ground came closer and closer, Spike shouted over to the white unicorn, "Rarity? I need to tell you something! Just in case we don't make it!" Spike closed his eyes and gulped as he began to finally spill the deepest secret within the depths of his heart, "I've always sort of had a crush-."  
_

_____Spike was interrupted by a white hoof being thrust into his mouth. He looked up at Rarity. She just looked at him, smiling, tears in her eyes.  
_

_____Spike's heart nearly skipped a beat. He could die right now, and be happy with it. . .  
_

_____**WHUMPH!**  
_

_____Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy zoomed in, each holding a corner of Rarity's torn cape. The two pegasi caught both dragon and unicorn, and gently lowered them onto the bridge.  
_

_____Fluttershy gasped and said, "We did it! I can't believe we did it!"  
_

_____Rainbow Dash just smiled confidently, "All in a day's work."  
_

_____Spike jumped down from the cape and looked off into Ponyville. It could've been worse. It certainly wasn't as bad as when the parasprites attacked. However, there was still quite a bit of damage. Spike sat upon the side of the bridge, looking at all the destruction. He held his hand over a large foot print left by his huge, greedy self. Spike felt tears push at his eyes. **Oh Celestia, what had he done!** He could have easily killed somepony. He could have killed his friends! His friends could have been all dead because of him! And Rarity. . .  
_

_____Spike's heart turned to ice. Oh Rarity. . .after he had just shown selflessness and generosity to her with the fire ruby, he had ruined everything with his greed. He had kidnapped her, scared her out of her wits! Spike shook as a sobbing fit threatened to take hold of him. There was no sense denying. Now that they were not falling to their deaths, the facts were crystal clear.  
_

_____He was a monster, and Rarity hated him.  
_

_____"Spike, I just have to tell you how absolutely proud I am of you."  
_

_____Spike's eyes widened. He quickly turned to see Rarity standing there, wearing the fire ruby and a sweet smile.  
_

_____"Proud of me?" Spike said slowly. This had to be a joke. It just had to be. He was a monster. He attacked his friends. He caused so much damage. She **hated** him. Didn't she?  
_

_____"Yes. It was you who stopped... w-well you, from destroying Ponyville," Rarity replied sincerely.  
_

_____Spike blinked. Did Rarity truly mean that? Spike thought back to when he had reverted back to his original form. Yes. . .yes he had stopped himself. He saw Rarity, heard her words about his act of generosity, and remembered. Remembered how it felt to give. How it was a better feeling to give than to receive. How much her smile had made him happy. Her sweet. . kiss.  
_

_____Spike's heart leapt. And now, Rarity knew how he felt. She understood. She knew that there would always be a special place for her in his heart. That beautiful, gorgeous, selfless, stylish, generous, pretty, captivating, spellbinding, dazzling unicorn. . .  
_

_____Rarity stood close to Spike and said sweetly, "You are my hero, Spikey-wikey!"  
_

___And then, she kissed him on the cheek. . ._

* * *

**_SMASH!_**

Lord Tirek roared out in utter shock and disbelief as the Rainbow of Darkness suddenly shattered into a thousand pieces. The dark energy quickly reformed itself above Lord Tirek recreating the dark arc above him.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Tirek roared at the top of his lungs, shaking the floating castle's very foundations, "NO ONE CAN OVERCOME THE RAINBOW OF DARKNESS!"

Far off, in Ponyville, something was happening inside the Carousel Boutique. Inside a drawer was a jewelry box, and inside the box was a gem, a gem that was now surging with incredible power. The box flung open, and the red gem inside shot through the window and, traveling at near the speed of light, zipped into Midnight Castle in an instant. The red gem orbited around Spike a few times, and then slammed into his chest, bathing the entire room in red light.

Tirek raised an arm to shield his eyes from the light. When the light finally dimmed down enough for him to look, he couldn't believe his eyes.

Spike was now wearing the Fire Ruby as a necklace, or amulet in his case. But that wasn't all. The amulets red energy now held up the six defeated ponies, and a change was taking place in them.

"This cannot be!" Tirek shouted as he saw Twilight's horn suddenly grow back good as new, as if nothing had ever happened.

Twilight opened eyes and gasped as she quickly brought a hoof up to her head and gently touched her restored horn. Her eyes widened, and then she turned to stare at Spike.

Meanwhile, Applejack's rear legs and Rainbow Dash's wings changed from limply hanging to strong and restored as they too began to wake up, eyes wide in shock as they felt the pain in their appendages vanish. Fluttershy let out a cry of shock as her body loosened up and regained movement with an ominous click. However, that click felt like a little slice of Heaven to Fluttershy.

"S-S-Spike. . ." Pinkie Pie gasped out as she felt a warming sensation in her restored vocal chords.

"Spikey-wikey?" Rarity gasped out, turning this way and that with her sightless eyes. Before long, she felt a warming sensation in her eyes, causing her to press her hooves on her face momentarily, but then, she removed her hooves, and gazed at Spike with those azure eyes he adored so much. "Oh my sweet Spikey-wikey!" she nearly squealed with pure joy, "You saved me! You saved us all!"

**_"HOW CAN THIS BE!"_** Tirek roared in extreme rage.

Spike turned towards the centaur, with extreme rage and utter loathing in his eyes. Spike growled and snarled at the centaur, his anger flaring so high that fire began to come out of his clenched fists.

"I'll tell you how this can be!" Spike shouted, his voice magically magnified and dripping with scorn and loathing for the centaur before him, "You thought you could use your precious Rainbow of Darkness to make me give up all hope, give up on my friends, and surrender everything to you. But you were wrong. _Boy, were you wrong!_" Spike snarled a little bit more and continued, "I'll admit, I _was_ just about to give up. But then, something inside me stopped me. Told me not to give up. Told me that I had something a _monster_ like you would never understand! Something more powerful than your Rainbow of Darkness!"

"And what was that?" Tirek challenged, beginning to get a bot of his confidence back.

Spike ignored the question and continued speaking, "The bit of hope inside of me wanted to make sure that I knew how strong it really was, so it showed me memories. Memories that your Rainbow of Darkness desperately tried to take away. But it was to late. I relieved those memories, and I felt that feeling. I finally realized it, just like how Twilight felt the Spark inside her when she and her friends faced Nightmare Moon."

Spike then turned around towards the six ponies and looked up at them. "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight. . . ., _Rarity_. . ." Tears welled up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. "You all are_ more_ than my friends," Spike then turned back to Lord Tirek and said with a defiant smirk, "They are my_family_! And I **_LOVE THEM!_**"

There was a tremendous flash of red light as the Fire Ruby amulet carried Spike up into the air with the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

"There are _seven_ colors in a rainbow, Lord Tirek!" Spike shouted, "So there's gotta be seven Elements of Harmony! I"m the seventh Element of Harmony! The Element of. . . **_LOVE!"_**

All seven Elements of Harmony flashed brighter than before.

Red light of Honesty!

Orange light of Kindness!

Yellow light of Laughter!

Green light of Generosity!

Blue light of Loyalty!

Indigo light of Magic!

Violet light of Love!

The seven beams of light twisted and fused together forming an egg-like sphere, which then burst open in furry of colored lights, revealing a small band of of rainbow that fluttered about like a mystical fairy, shinning brightly and senindg colorful light every which way.

Lord Tirek actually shrieked at the sight of the entity, mindless fear and panic clear in his eyes.

"Eeeeyyyyaaaaahhhh! NO! Not the Rainbow of Light!"

The Rainbow of Light spun and spun, scattering colors around the room like a mystical disco ball, and then slammed right into the Rainbow of Darkness. The darker entity shuddered as it attempted to absorb the Rainbow of Light, however, such an entity of purity and light would not and could not be smothered. Almost instantly, the Rainbow of Darkness began to be converted, transforming from seven shades of grey to the entire visible light spectrum. Soon, the netire thing was in vibrant color. The Rainbow of Light had triumphed.

_"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, nooooooooooooo!"_ Lord Tirek shrieked, shielding his eyes with his arms and his knees buckled underneath him, causing him to land on the ground hard.

The now massive Rainbow of Light began to twist and turn, shooting up high into the air and out of the hole in the ceiling the Elements of Harmony had made. And then, without a moments hesitation, they came down hard upon the Dark Lord.

Tirek shrieked yet again as the seven colored band of light washed over him. The seven bearers of the Elements of Harmony watched as, starting from the tips of his hooves, the centaur began to be erased from existence.

**_"NO! THIS CANNOT HAPPEN TO ME! I POSSESS THE POWER OF THE DARKEST SHADOWS! I AM PURE DARKNESS! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_**

Lord Tirek thrashed around madly as his body slowly, and apparently painful, continued to disappear. His legs, his tail, his lower body, his torso, his arms, and finally his head.

Lord Tirek was gone forever.

Suddenly, the Rainbow of Light whisked the seven heroes away, just as Midnight Castle suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, along with all the black clouds that surrounded it. The Rainbow of Light cast down its magic upon Canterlot, and its building were instantly restored. Even Canterlot Castle was restored to its former glory. But most importantly, the monster were once again returned to the ponies they once were.

The Rainbow of Light gently placed the heroes down in the Canterlot sculpture gardens. It's job finally done, it disappeared back into the seven Elements of Harmony. Immediately after this, two lights descended upon them. One was big, hot, and powerful, while the other was smaller, calmer, and cooler. As the two light landed, they soon took the shape of the two Alicorn Princesses. The group cheered and shouted, running up to them and bowing.

"All of you," Celestia said with joy, "You have overcome an unspeakable foe!"

"Princess, did you know that there was a seventh Element?" Twilight asked.

Celestia shook her head, "No. I had no idea whatsoever. Although I did discover some legends about the Rainbow of Light, I had no idea that the Elements of Harmony were connected to it. I had thought that the Rainbow of Light had long since faded from existence."

Luna actually chuckled. When Celestia turned to gaze at her younger sister, Luna said, "Oh sister, please! You do not really believe that entities of such wondrous magic simply fade away into nothing? Did the Elements of Harmony rust away into dust? Goodness, no! Otherwise we would not be standing here at this moment!"

Celestia bent down a little to gaze at Spike's Element of Love, "Hmmm. . . a Fire Ruby. . .as an Element of Harmony. . .Tell me Spike, what Element do you represent?"

"Love, your Majesty," Spike assuredly.

Celestia smiled broadly, "Of course. I believe you told me the story of this particular gem. It makes perfect sense. The Element of Love chose to manifest itself within this Fire Ruby, because it was a symbol of love."

Spike felt something soft rub against him. He turned around to see Rarity with a sweet smile, gently nuzzling him. Spike smiled back, and the two shared a soft hug, followed by a quick peck on Spike's cheek by Rarity.

Luna stood on her hind legs and extend a hoof in the air in front of her, "This is a day of most joyous celebration, unlike none ever seen in the history of Equestria! THERE WILL BE MUCH SINGING AND DANCING AND CAPERING, AND A MOST WONDROUS AND GLORIOUS FEAST!" Luna was so excited that she couldn't help launching into the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Pinkie let out a huge gasp and jumped around wildly like a rubber bouncy ball, "Oh! A feast! Did you hear that! A feast! With sugar cubes and sugar canes and sundaes and sun-beams and sarsaparilla. . .!"

Everypony laughed as Pinkie Pie rambled on and on.

Celestia chuckled as she placed a hoof on Luna's shoulder. Putting a sneaky look, the Princess of the Day put on an old English accent and said, "Come, dear sister! We mustn't tarry! We must get all of Canterlot ready for THE GREATEST OF ALL CELEBRATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN AND ARE TO COME!"

Luna actually jumped at Celestia's use of the Royal Canterlot Voice, but then joined in the laughing that followed, only stopping a moment to say, "Oh Tia! You hardly ever use it! How are you still _so_ much better at than I am! Hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!"

* * *

Indeed, the celebration that followed would in all likely-hood never be matched. It was all Luna had declared it would, and more! The festivities were a joy for young and old, and the food was the most savored you ever laid your taste-buds on, and it was all in honor of the seven bearers of the Elements of Harmony, who knowingly stepped into the lair of a demon and into the jaws of death, only barely making out alive. These ponies, and dragon, were everypony's hero.

Far into the night, when many had fallen asleep from either exhaustion or from being so full of food, Luna's full moon shone down on the Canterlot gardens, in which the party had taken place.

Under a tree, away from the noise and action of the party goers, two figures had spent a while just gazing at the full moon. Right now, they both lay asleep, nestled close together.

Nearby, Twilight just watched the unicorn and dragon, smiling at the heartwarming sight.

"I wonder what their children will look like?"

Twilight turned around and glared at the speaker angrily, "Rainbow Dash!"

Dash just smiled and shrugged, "What? I'm just curious!"

Twilight groaned, "Ugh! You ruined this peaceful little heartwarming scene!"

Dash waved a hoof, "Ah, whatever! You're no fun Twilight!"

Twilight sighed as she heard Pinkie Pie giggling in the distance, her head still stuck in the empty cream and strawberry trifle bowl from the feast.

"I guess some things just never change!" Twilight said with a smile as Applejack came over and filled her mug with Sweet Apple cider.

"Eeyup! Thank goodness for that!" Applejack said as she and Twilight bumped mugs in a toast to Harmony.

"Cheers!"

**THE END**


	2. Author's Notes

**Author's Notes**

Dear Bronies,

Whew! That was something! It took me five and a half hours to write this thing non-stop! Man, I hope this gets on Equestria Daily. I hope their new submition system is working okay. Anyway, this story was actually in my head for a _loooooong_ time. It probably came to me a day or two after "The Secret of My Excess" first aired. I was browsing around TVtropes when I saw a WMG about the Fire Ruby being a seventh Element of Harmony. At the time, I also was thinking of how Tirek could come back in Generation 4 (Friendship is Magic). And so, this story, but my other stories kept me from writing this. Also, I just wasn't in the mood. But then, it hit me. This isn't about Lord Tirek's return. This is about Spike becoming the bearer of the Seventh Element of Harmony, Love.

And then I realized, he doesn't just love Rarity. He loves Twilight, deeply. He was _crushed_ when he thought Twilight didn't love him anymore in "Owl's Well that Ends Well". This led me to wonder if he had a sort of love for the rest of the Mane Six as well. Well, "Dragon Quest" confirmed it 100 percent! He clearly said that not just Twilight, but all of his friends were his family. you normally love your family. The Mane Six are Spike's family. Therefore, Spike loves each of the Mane Six. I may have taken a few liberties during the whole "Spike's Memories of Loving Each of the Mane Six" sequence, but I felt that it all made sense and was justified.

I got most of the information for the Rainbows of Light and Darkness straight from the Generation 1 movie "Rescue at Midnight Castle". Seriously, the only problem with it was the way the ponies were drawn and the way they acted. It was a kiddy show. However, if they had done it with the certain intangible more grown up tone that Friendship is Magic has, I'm pretty sure there would have been Bronies back then, because the movie's plot isn't that bad at all. Of course, the whole Dark Matter Comet thing was something I made up on the fly. I had to have a reason for his return, right? Also, I mentioned Generation 1 Spike. I may have gotten his role wrong. If I did, then just pretend it's Tirek trying to trick Spike with lies or something, but I'm pretty sure that's what Generation 1 Spike did in the movie.

One last thing, I'm pretty sure Lord Tirek's return and rise to power and evil plan and corruptions and stuff would be a pretty awesome FanFic on it's own. However, I feel no will to try and write all that. If you want to, go ahead, cause I'm not doing it. Too long and too complicated. I wouldn't even know what to write.

Well, that's it for the author's notes. I hope you enjoyed the story and review, like, and favorite it!  
Signed,  
Matthais Unidostres


End file.
